Medieval Places
Tech Tower Tech Tower features a Romanesque Revival style and is located on North Avenue at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Built by Bruce & Morgan, it boasts five feet tall TECH sign and was constructed in 1887. Students have had a long standing tradition of stealing the T, which is now illegal and frowned upon. The building's features include a red brick and granite tower topped with a copper gabled roof, originally made of terra cotta. The windows of the building are rectangular on the first and second floors, but arched on the third. Today, it is used to house the school's registrar’s office. Rhodes Hall Rhodes Hall, also called "The Castle on Peachtree Street", is also built in the Romanesque Revival style on the outside, but features a Victorian Revival interior. The exterior is constructed of granite brought in from Stone Mountain Georgia, which cut cost because of the shorter shipping distance. It was built for Amos Rhodes on Peachtree street by Willis Denny. Rhodes wanted a Rhines style castle, but Denny convinced him to change the style slightly. Built in 1904 on Amos’ land, the house originally cost $50,000 and was seated on a larger piece of land, which was split later to build the Peachtree Christian Church. In the 1950s, there was a double sided shopping center around Rhodes Hall, giving it the feel of being a castle governing a village. To save cost while remaining an authentic, Amos cut costs by creating incredibly grand details in areas that guests would see and keeping the private areas of the house incredibly simple in design. The front enterance boasts a staircase containing a stained and hand painted glass feature depicting the rise and fall of the Confederacy. This helps tie the house both to the period it was build as well as the time in invokes. In addition, it helps connect Amos, who was a business man not from the Confederacy, to his customer base, many of whom had been Confederates. Today Rhodes Hall offers tours to the public on Thursdays and Saturdays, houses two offices upstairs, and is a popular wedding destination in Atlanta. Medieval Times Medieval Times was founded by a Spanish couple. There are 9 locations. The location in Atlanta was the last location built. The build started in 2005 and opened for business in 2006. Each of the Medieval Times castles are built to look like 11th century Spanish castles. The owners built them that way because of the nostalgia they had for Spain and as a way to honor their heritage. The castle may be primarily a facade, but the castle does have many similarities to actual spanish castles, such as a Castle at Tamarit and the Castille de Cordona. The interior is also made to represent castles of the time period and location. Again, past the surface of the design of the interior, one can see the modern building. Cheaper and faster building methods allow for more profit without charger guests more for details that do not add as much to the environment. The slight sights of modernity do nothing to temper the medieval environment. The building and interior are simply a place that holds the important things. The dinner and show allow people to "experience" the middle ages. Feast upon chicken, tomato soup, spare rib, and more. And have fun feasting with only your hands. Enjoy jousting, falconry, and swordplay in a fast paced show where you cheer on your knight. Each knight picks a special lady from their section to gain her favor. Wave your banner and enjoy the atmosphere. You can enjoy the show Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or most holidays. Tickets are available online or at the door. Adults are $53 and children are $36. Educational and teaching shows are available. The Renaissance Festival The Georgia Renaissance Festival was built in 1985 and opened for its first season in that year. Across North America, there are 35 permanent fairgrounds that are based on the middle ages. 10 are located in the southeast (if you include Texas). The fairgrounds in Atlanta are supposed to represent the typical European village from the 16th century. The village is under rule from King Henry the XIII and is named Newcastle. Even though the name is the Renaissance festival, it combines time periods so that you could inhabit any pre-modern era. Inhabit the middle ages by donning your medieval garb to enjoy a variety of shows, shopping, and food. The venues of these things may not be the most stable of building, but they are only the location for the action. In this case, the painted details and the reduction of size allows for more in less space. Only a small part of an actual village would be able to fit on the fairgrounds. There is something to be said about putting away the cell phones to enjoy a day under the sun with your family as you enjoy life from a time long past. The Georgia Renaissance Festival is open Saturday and and Sunday from the third weekend in April to the first weekend in June. The Festival is also open Memorial Day. Tickets are available in advance or at the gate. Ticket price varies depending on the weekend attending, the place of purchase, and the age of the attendee. Map Map References # Pugh, T., & Weisl, A. J. (2013). Medievalisms: making the past in the present. London: Routledge. # Aronstein, S., & Coiner, N. (1994). Twice Knightly: Democratizing the Middle Ages for Middle Class America. Studies In Medievalism, 6212-231. # Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). (n.d.). New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 1, 2014, from http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/georgia-institute-technology-georgia-tech # http://www.essential-humanities.net/western-art/architecture/medieval/ # www.georgiatrust.org/historic_sites/rhodeshall/ # Medieval Times. (n.d.). Dinner & Tournament » Atlanta Castle. Retrieved October 25, 2014, from http://www.medievaltimes.com/atlanta.aspx # http://www.garenfest.com/